Laughs, Luck...and Lucy

by Jess Oppenheimer

Published 1 November 1996
The man Lucille Ball called ""the brains"" of ""I Love Lucy"" gives us an inside view of television history as it was being made. Jess Oppenheimer's famous sitcom was the most popular and influential television phenomenon in the history of the medium. Forty-five years after its debut, it remains a favourite the world over. Oppenheimer's book, written with his son, Gregg, is not only a record of how this groundbreaking comedy was conceived and executed, but an insider's account of the broadcasting industry's development from the early days of radio and television's golden age. Hollywood aficionados should enjoy his entertaining stories of stars such as Douglas Fairbanks, Edgar Bergen, Fred Astaire, and, of course, Lucille Ball. It contains two previously unpublished scripts, dozens of previously unreleased photos and a compact disc full of rare ""Lucy"" performances.